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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · bear · swing · drill · calf · clip · mate · bound

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bear — the animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mate — a partner
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. mate — to breed
  11. march — the month
  12. bear — the animal
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. swing — to play on
  16. clip — a video
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mate — a friend
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. march — music
  21. clip — to cut
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bound — tied together

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com